40% of drivers say next car will be electric, finds Tusker

More than a third (40%) of UK employees said they will choose an electric car for the their next vehicle, according to the 2024 Tusker EV Driver Survey.

Of those, 62% plan to acquire the vehicle through a salary sacrifice scheme.

Kit Wisdom, managing director of Tusker, said: “It’s undeniable that company car and salary sacrifice schemes are playing a major part in supporting EV take up. Industry data shows that recent growth in EV market share could not have been achieved without the significant benefits linked to salary sacrifice. These results underline that incentives have played a critical role in supporting the uptake of EVs to date – and it’s vital that the Government ensures that the incentives remain stable and strong enough to encourage more consumers and businesses to switch.

“The research in our report bears this out - drivers say the schemes’ tax advantages are one of the main reasons they plan to go electric or have already done so. We’ve also found that one of the biggest barriers to adoption of EVs is the perceived high purchase cost. This does not concern employees who choose an EV through a workplace salary sacrifice scheme as they aren’t required to pay for their car upfront.”

Data, published earlier this year by the British Vehicle Rental and Leasing Association (BVRLA), found that take up of salary sacrifice car schemes rose by 47% in the final three months of 2023 compared with the same period in 2022, with 84% of employees opting for an EV.

When motorists don’t have access to the tax advantages of a salary sacrifice scheme, however, the picture is different. The BVRLA found that 66% of private contract hire agreements in the same period of last year were for petrol vehicles, with electric models representing only 16%. 

When it comes to customer views on their EV’s, 93% of Tusker drivers said they are either satisfied or very satisfied with their car, while 96% said their cars are reliable or very reliable. 

The survey also found that alongside tax savings benefits, employees said that cheaper running costs are a key consideration in choosing an EV, with 60% saying this. 52% percent also said that environmental benefits are a key reason to switch from a petrol or diesel car.

Of the drivers who don’t have a car on the Tusker scheme and don’t currently own an EV, 69% said they plan to switch in the next four years.

Non-EV drivers still have concerns, however. The most common is the range of electric cars - how far a car can travel on a single charge - as well as the public charging infrastructure and initial vehicle cost.

The survey revealed that 86% of EV drivers said their car's range is sufficient for everyday use, and 78% only need to use the public charging network once a month or less. Almost 6,000 new public charge points have been installed in the UK in the first three months of 2024, increasing to 60,000 across Britain to date - 12,000 of which are rapid or ultra rapid chargers. Three-hundred thousand public chargers are due to be implemented by 2030.

The Tusker EV Driver Survey 2024 was carried out in April 2024 with 5,942 UK employees taking part. The respondents were made up of 4,331 employed driving licence holders, 1,316 electric vehicle drivers with a Tusker scheme and 295 petrol vehicle drivers with a Tusker scheme.